Hurt and Compassion
by FMAlchemist96
Summary: I thought of this one night. I think of a lot of my stories at night.     Ed comes home on vacation, now a colonel, and finds Winry crying. Why? And what does Ed do about it?    T for circumstances...
1. Chapter 1

Edward sighed. He knew that if he didn't tidy his room, Winry would kill him. He had gotten home from town, and rushed upstairs before Winry would see his back hole of a room. Ed ran past Winry's door, but hesitated and went back.

_Was she crying?_

"Hey, you okay?"

Winry turned away, attempting too late to hide her tears.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine."

Edward frowned and sat at the foot of her bed.

"No you're not. What's wrong?"

"Nothing!"

"Winry!" Edward yelled, perhaps too loudly. Winry winced and began crying harder. Immediately, Edward's expression softened and he scooted closer.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Winry shook her head and sniffled.

"Tell me."

"No, he'd kill me."

"Who?"

"Eric."

_Her boyfriend?_

"He won't find out, Winry. You can tell me, okay?"

Winry pulled up her sleeve, revealing large bruises and cuts all over her arm.

"Oh God, Winry… how could you let this happen?"

"It's not by choice!" Winry shrieked. 'You think I _like _being constantly hit, Ed? You think I _like_ wondering if I'll be back in my bed at night? You think I _like_ hurting too badly to smile?"

Edward stared at Winry in shock. He could feel the lump building up in his throat, the tears welling up in his eyes.

"Winry, I-"

"Just forget it, Ed. Alright?"

"No. No way. There is no way in _hell _that I will forget this."

Edward stood and ran to his room.

"Be right back!"

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Just making a quick call."

Winry's eyes widened.

"No! Ed, don't, please!"

Edward hurried to his room and shut the door, locking it behind him. He grabbed his phonebook and flipped through the pages.

_Raylan, Eric_

Edward pounded in the number keys.

"Hey, just calling to say that if you ever go near Winry again, I'll kill you."

"Who the hell are you?"

"I'm the Eastern Command Center colonel and close friends with Fuhrer Mustang himself."

Edward could hear Eric laughing on the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I'm sure you are. You can't tell me that I can't see my girlfriend."

"Look man, she isn't your girlfriend anymore, got it? If I were you, I'd forget I ever met her."

"Well then," Eric said darkly, "It's a good thing you aren't me, isn't it?"

Edward slammed the phone onto the receiver. Quickly, he picked it up again.

"Hey, Denny, you and Maria still in Resembool?"

"Colonel Elric? Yeah, we're still here. Why, you need something?"

(A/N: Denny and Maria are Ed's subordinates…)

"Eric Raylan. Lives about oh, quarter of a mile from that bakery on main."

"what about him, sir?"

"Arrest him."

"right away, sir." Denny replied.

Edward smiled in satisfaction. He went and opened his door to find Winry sobbing next to the doorway on the floor.

"Do you have _any _idea of what you just did?"

"Yeah. I'm having him arrested."

"_What_?"

Winry stared in disbelief. She'd only heard Ed's conversation with Eric.

"Yeah. I called Denny." Edward said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I thought he'd kill me. I was irrational, okay?"

"Win, you know I'd have gone psycho on his ass."

Winry sniffled.

"Come with me back home."

"What?"

"Come live at my apartment with me. I… I hate leaving you. I know that in itself kills you. Kills me, too. If I ever have to leave for work, you can come!"

"Ed,"

"I love you, Winry. You h_ave _to come! Please…"

Winry smiled for the first time in months. She painfully wrapped her arms around Ed.

"I'll pack my things. I love you too."

(A/N: I feel kinda cheesy writing that…)

Edward grinned down at Winry.

"Glad to-"

The front door crashed against the wall on the main floor. Winry jumped and started shaking. Ed could feel her heart beating against his chest.

"Win, stay here, I'll be ri-"

"Edward? Winry?" Edward breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

"It's only Granny."


	2. Chapter 2

"Ed, this house is beautiful!"

"Yeah, needs a woman's touch though. Basement's perfect to open up your shop. We can go to Rush Valley this weekend and get all the stuff you need."

"Ed, this is perfect. You work five minutes away, "

"And whenever I have to leave, you can come." Edward finished.

Though Ed _did _have enough power to arrest Eric, he couldn't stop civil rights. A trial was soon in order, and Ed took off to attend with Winry. (Are hearings and trials the same thing? I'm no legally smart person as far as that goes. If I get this wrong, PM me and I'll fix it!)

"Last question: Mr. Raylan, did you abuse Ms. Rockbell?"

"No, I loved Winry with all my heart."

"Bastard's lying through his teeth," Edward whispered to himself.

"Alright then. Ms. Rockbell to the stand, please."

Winry shakily walked up to the stand, avoiding Eric's gaze at all cost.

"Did the defendant abuse you?"

"yes."

"Would you care to elaborate?"

"He'd throw punches, he'd slap, and He'd throw me against tables and walls. He'd throw objects at me, and verbally abuse me." Winry replied firmly, despite her appearance.

"And you never reported him?"

"I thought he would kill me if I did. Court system can be slow."

"And why then, did you report him when you did?"

"It wasn't really me. It was Ed. He knew if I stayed around Eric, I wouldn't be around much longer."

The counselor cocked an eyebrow.

"And who exactly is this Ed?"

"Edward Elric."

"The colonel?" the counselor asked suspiciously.

"Yes. We've known each other a long time."

"Hey, this is unfair! If she's personal friends with _him, _I don't have a freaking fair trial! I'll go to jail no matter what!"

The judge banged his gavel.

"Actually, I can only have you arrested." Edward said matter-of-factly.

"Enough!" The judge bellowed.

"Continue, Miss Rockbell."

"Whenever I was around Eric, he'd abuse me."

"Did he ever sexually abuse you?"

Edward tensed. He'd been asking himself the same question, not wanting to ask Winry herself, for fear of being hit with her wrench. Something along that line.

"Miss Rockbell, I need an answer."

"Yes," she admitted softly.

"She's lying!" Eric exploded.

"Enough out of you!"

The jury soon returned with its anonymous verdict.

"We the jury find Eric Raylan guilty of all charges."

"Fine! You want a confession? I hit her!" Eric turned to Edward, "Banged her too."

Edward stood and balled his fists.

"Get him out of my courtroom!" The judge bellowed.

Winry ran past Eric into Edward's direction. At the last minute, Eric thrust his fist into Winry's stomach. Winry doubled over in pain and Edward ran to her side.

The bailiff cuffed Eric and escorted him out.

"It wasn't that bad at first. Then he'd start slapping. Then punches and throwing stuff. When I refused to have sex with him, it got ten times worse. He busted my lip more than once, when he threw me against a wall, I got cut by broken glass. The day before you cam was the worst. He hit me so hard that day, I couldn't smile when you walked in. Ed, if you hadn't stepped in,"

Edward pulled Winry into a hug.

"Stop. Everything's fine now, just forget about that bastard."


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, because Fullmetalfan16 asked me to update soon, which I was already planning on, I'm updating this first. I was going to update CHS first… but because of the message, this is first!

This chapter was kinda fun to write. And I just noticed…this could be the final chapter…

Edward stood on his front porch happily. Al was finally coming for a visit, which meant plenty of time to tease him about his girlfriend, Mei. Winry was glad they'd finally gotten together. She knew that they hadn't _just _gotten together. They'd been secretly dating for months, though if she hadn't seen them kissing in her kitchen six months before, she'd never have guessed. Al and Mei were _really _good at keeping secrets…that scared Winry a little. When Al drove up, Ed's face lit up. He hadn't seen his little brother in God knows how long.

"Hey Al!"

"Hey Brother! Looks like you grew!"

Edward fumed as Winry ran down the steps to greet Al and Mei.

"You should've come over a long time ago!" Winry squealed.

"We didn't want to burden you. But Alphonse insisted that we visit. He said Edward needed burdening." Mei chirped happily.

"No burden!" Winry said, "Unless you call Ed short. Even though he's taller than me and a lot of other people, he's still sensitive."

Mei and Al laughed. Edward ran over, having his short rant spaz attack.

"What the hell did you say?"

"You're a lovesick puppy, Ed."

Edward looked up from his book at his snickering brother.

"What? No I'm not."

"Face it, Brother. Winry's got you wrapped around her finger. You're whipped. It's a shame to see my older brother like that." Al smiled, trying to convey the message that he was only kidding, but Edward couldn't tell. He stood and walked up to Al, glaring daggers.

"Just because I don't treat Winry like crap…she's already been through hell, Al. You _do _know what happened, don't you? That Eric bastard she was dating, you remember him right?"

Al nodded. Sure, he remembered Eric. He was there the last time that he'd been at the Rockbell home. Seemed like a nice guy, too. But the bitterness in Edward's voice when he said, no spat, Eric's name…maybe he had been jealous of Eric?

"You have no idea, Al…Winry was a wreck. I wanted to kill him…"

"Why, Brother?" Okay…now Al was confused. He knew how jealous Ed could get, but wanting to _kill_ a guy over something like that? Just because he was dating Winry?

"Al, he beat the shit out of her! He… made her into someone I barely recognized! When I called Eric and she thought he had come over, she was shaking. I could feel her heart pounding; she was crying so hard…I never want to see her like that again. I know I can be a stubborn jackass…but," Ed shook his head, "All the shit he caused, the cuts, the bruises…they're all healed. But _she _isn't. She's still in bad shape. Every time I start yelling, even over something stupid, she cringes. Every time I reach to brush hair out of her face, she flinches. At night, when I reach to hold her, she jumps. She'll scoot so close at night sometimes, like she's trying to bury herself.

SO far, she's almost back to how she was, and I'll do anything to keep it that way. Anything that stands in my way better get the hell away. I'm not whipped, Al. I just…and part of it has to do with the childhood friends thing, but I just can't stand to see her hurt. I love her, and I know you do, too, just in a different way."

"I-I had no idea, brother." Alphonse stuttered. He was in shock. This was definitely _not _what he'd expected. He didn't want to know how it happened, but he wouldn't let anything get in the way of help for his sister. ( I put that as symbolism, because Winry is basically his sister! XD)

"Yeah, you obviously didn't." Edward sat back into his chair and gulped his glass of water.

"You guys seem to be doing great, though. In spite of all this, I mean."

"Not really, Al."

Rain pounded the window and Al jumped at the clap of thunder. A heavy rainstorm had slipped into East City, beating the city for a couple of hours, showing no sign of letting up.

"I mean, sure, we don't fight, but I can't really do anything you know?"

"No, I don't. What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said, Win's still healing, so I feel like I've always gotta be here. I want to, though. More than anything, but with work, it's hard. I get grumpy from all the stress. There's another Barry the Chopper copycat. Between Win and the case,"

"There's no Ed time." Alphonse finished.

"Exactly."

"You really think that, Ed?"

Edward and Alphonse both turned to the doorway of the study. Winry stood there, tears falling gently down her face.

_Shit_

"Maybe I should just go back home, Ed. Would that make you happy? I'm obviously making things too stressful for you here!" Winry ran down the stairs and the brothers heard the front door slam.

"No no no no no!" Edward flew down the stairs, taking three, four steps at a time. He threw the door open and was immediately blinded by a flash of lightning. The rain pelted him like bullets within seconds, he was soaked from head to toe.

"Winry!" He called after the distraught young woman, who was kneeling in the middle of the road, sobbing. Alphonse stood in the doorway. This was Ed's time.

"What do you want?" Winry shrieked.

Edward knelt in front of Winry. It was hard to tell she was crying, it was dark out, and her tears mingled with the rain.

"Don't go. I need you here. You're not causing the stress, I promise. I just get so caught up in you, I can't focus. But it's not all bad. I'd rather be caught up in you that work!"

"That's not how you sounded back there, Ed."

"Winry, please," Ed's voice broke and Winry looked at him in shock. She couldn't remember the last time that happened… at least, in a situation like this. "I need you here! I know how great it is, I can't have you taken away. I-I love falling asleep and waking up next to you. I wanna do everything I can for you."

Edward stood, helping Winry up with him. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and looked down.

"Win, I shoulda done this so long ago, but…and I wasn't planning on doing it now,"

Edward fell to his automail knee and looked up at Winry.

"You have to marry me, Win."

Winry's eyes moved from Edward to the ring, and then to the puddle he was kneeling in.

"Get out of the puddle. You'll rust."

Edward stood, keeping his eyes on Winry.

"P-Please."

Winry sighed.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?"

Edward's shoulders fell.

"You should've asked months, no, years ago. But my answer will be the same, you idiot."

Edward's eyes darted up to Winry. He closed the small gap between them, instigating a whistle from Al, who was still in the doorway.

"Is that-"

"Yes, you idiot."

AND WE'RE CLEAR! I'm glad I got this done! Next up, I'm Coming Home. Last chapter for that. So…yeah. Reviews are loveded! Maybe I should do a Gir fanfic…hmm…


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